I Have Five Interns
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: Set early S6. Alex was the only one out of Bailey’s interns who had not been on her operating table, but in a twist of fate that no one saw coming, suddenly Alex is faced with disasterous injuries that threaten to end his career, even his life. *Complete*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**Here's a new fic I thought up when I watched the scene in Tainted Obligation where Bailey is operating on Meredith, this was just something that I had to right.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_How is it that you can be going through your life, just getting by, and then in an instant… You're life is changed irreparably? You miscarry, you nearly drown, your mother dies, you are diagnosed with cancer, you're hit by a bus. There should be some kind of warning, a message or something, but there isn't, it's just random and devastating._

_And right up until it happens to you, you are certain that it won't be you that's life is turned upside down, it'll be someone else, these things always happen to someone else._

* * *

It started out like any other day, Alex got out of bed, got organized and left the house well before his friends were awake, since everything had been happening with Izzie, the cancer, her near death, he had found solace keeping himself busy, working even longer hours, avoiding any kind of social gathering which could lead to talking, talking about things that he didn't want to talk about. He was driving his dark green jeep towards the hospital on highway five, it wasn't too busy, mostly trucks making early morning deliveries of groceries and other such items, Alex had a CD playing, it was loud, just how Alex liked it, he was weaving in and out of the trucks, and not really paying much attention doing it.

He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in beat with the music, and in his mind he was going over the plan for a facial reconstruction he was assisting Dr Sloan with that afternoon, he was trying to visualize the procedure.

Alex was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't see the truck in front of him suddenly slam on their brakes, unbeknown to Alex there was a car broken down in the lane barely fifty metres ahead.

* * *

The peace of the early morning was broken by the awful sound of metal crashing into metal, the truck had slammed into the broken down station wagon, thankfully its occupants had been waiting for the tow truck on the other side of the roadside barrier, they had a horrifically clear view as the truck impacted with their car, and then Alex's jeep ran up the back of the truck, crumpling beyond recognition in an instant.

* * *

"Oh god!" The station wagon's driver, Lara Watson cried out in horror at the sight before her, her dad's car was totaled, wrapped around the front bull bar, the truck had jackknifed, blocking all three lanes of the highway but only sustaining minor damage, a green jeep wedged around the side of the truck, and every vehicle behind the carnage swerving to avoid it.

Lara's three friends who she had been giving a ride into the city to were standing just behind her, freaking out. After all they had just witnessed a massive crash.

* * *

One of the truckies who had been forced to pull their rigs to an abrupt halt, Lou Reid, a veteran truck driver of forty eight years, and by no means unfamiliar to this horrific scene had been quickly to radio in the accident before climbing out of the cabin to see if he could help. He went first over to the other truck's cabin, and checked on the driver, Larry Fisher, he had a bad cut in his hairline and thought he may have broken his arm, other than that he was just shaken, after helping Larry out of his truck, onto the ground, Lou made his way towards the wrecked station wagon, he looked inside, and it was clear to him that the car had been empty at the time of impact, he glanced over at the group of hysterical teenage girls on the roadside and guessed that it was their car.

He then went to the last vehicle involved in the horrific crash, he could barely tell what sort of car it had been before the accident. He went straight to the driver's door and peered into the wreck, he could see a young man, Alex wedged against the steering wheel, there was blood everywhere. "Sir? Can you hear me?"

Somehow Alex was still conscious. He turned his head slightly towards the voice. "Wha? …Hurts."

Lou's first instinct was to reach out to Alex, to offer him comfort, but he could barely even see him, let alone reach him. "You have been in an accident. Just hang on, okay? Help is on the way. What's your name?"

Alex was in agony, he could see that his car was crushed around him, he was certain that he wasn't going to survive. "Alex. Please… tell my wife, tell Izzie I love her."

"No, listen to me kid, you're going to be fine and you can tell her yourself. Just stay awake, keep talking to me. Help's coming, you are going to see your wife again."

"So tired, can't… please tell her."

"Kid?! Alex!?! Come on, hang in there." Lou tried in vain to rouse Alex, but he had given in to the pain he was in and slipped out of consciousness.

* * *

Kim Bonner and Wayne Turner had been on shift at the firehouse since eight o'clock the night before, but for the most part it had been quiet, they were just about to get off shift when the call came in, pile up on highway five, unknown number of victims. "Damn it." Wayne cursed in frustration, this was going to take at least an hour, he was hoping that he'd get home on time for once.

"Sorry." Kim murmured as she flicked on the lights and sirens and turned the ambulance around towards the reported accident site.

* * *

Seeing as how it was only five-thirty am, most of the firefighters were asleep back at the firehouse, but within minutes of getting the call they were on their way.

* * *

Kim and Wayne's ambulance arrived on scene first, they had barely pulled up when an elderly man, Lou shouted out to them for help. They grabbed their bags and rushed over.

Kim moved to Lou's side, and placed a hand on his arm, as she asked. "Sir? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but the guy in this car, he's in bad shape. He was talking when I got to him, but he passed out about ten minutes ago. His name's Alex."

"Thanks, please step back now sir." Wayne said, gently pushing Lou out of the way so that he could get to Alex. A quick survey of the wreckage told Wayne that there was no way they could reach Alex. "You better radio dispatch, we're going to need rescue to cut this guy out."

"Okay, I'll see if I can get any kind of access, you go see if there's any one else hurt."

* * *

Miranda Bailey had been working barely an hour, she had arrived to find the pit in a state of chaos, there had been a collision two hours ago and they were still sifting through the walking wounded, mostly scrapes and cases of shock, the worst so far had been a truck driver, Larry Fisher, and that was just a few sutures and a wrist cast. She was supervising a couple of interns doing sutures, when a gurney was brought through the doors, four paramedics were surrounding the gurney, working on the unfortunate person that lay on it.

Miranda felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the bullet.

"Twenty nine year old male, MVC vic, altered consciousness, dilated right pupil, suspected sternal fracture, needle decompressed a tension hemo-pneumo, near amputation of left arm, bilateral open tibia, fibula, and femur fractures, prolonged extrication. He was intubated for agonal respirations, three bags of saline in, given ten milligrams of morphine. Driver's license says Alexander Karev."

Miranda turned on her heels, and ignoring the interns, she went over to the rapidly moving gurney, she had to push past several over eager interns to get to the gurney, the body lying on it was covered in blood, almost unrecognizable through the cuts and contusions, but it was unmistakably Miranda Bailey's former intern, Alex. Whilst attempting to mask her shock, Bailey looked up at one of the interns how had made it to the gurney. "You, go find Dr Stevens, now!"

* * *

**TBC...**

**So, how was that? Are you liking this story? Please give me some feedback on this!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! It really encourages me to keep writing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Miranda?" The senior attending on shift for the ER, Gary Hawker said with a hint of concern, as they moved the gurney into a treatment room and got to work.

"He, he's… Alex, he was an intern of mine, his wife is working upstairs… she needs to know." Bailey said shakily before moving back up to the gurney, she looked Alex over before saying out aloud. "Stat page Torres, Hunt, Shepherd, and someone from cardio-thoratic."

After seeing that a nurse was carrying out her instruction, Bailey leant down over Alex, and fiercely whispered. "I have worked too hard, teaching you, dealing with your adolescent behavior for you to die now, so you just… You need to survive this, Karev. Just hold on."

* * *

Within minutes the room had been cleared of interns and paramedics, and the surgeons were working on Alex, trying to stabilize him for transfer to the OR.

"Okay, second chest tube's in, over one thousand cc's out so far. Put up another bag of blood, two of platelets, and one of FFP, we've got to keep up with the blood loss." Dr Victoria Rivett, a cardio-thoratic surgeon of eighteen years, said as she worked, and as a nurse carried out her orders, she turned to Owen, who was examining Alex's arm, which was literally being held on by a small amount of flesh. "Can you save it?"

"Maybe." Owen said. "But we've got to get it on ice, the tissues are already ischemic. Number ten blade." Owen ignored the grimaces and sickened expressions of his colleagues as he severed the tissues that were holding Alex's arm together. After he was done, he instructed a nurse "Keep the bp cuff up until I get back" Before he moved over to a mayo stand, where he put the arm down on a sterile drape.

"How's it look?" Callie asked from where she was assessing the multiple fractures in Alex's legs.

"You're going to have your work cut out for you, Torres, there's at least one fracture, but I think it's still viable." Owen replied as he placed the severed arm into a bag, which was then placed in a bag of saline, and then into an esky filled with ice. He then moved back over to the gurney, to examine the stump.

"This is all well and good guys, but with this epidural bleed, if we don't relieve the pressure it won't matter if he has his arm." Derek pointed out from where he was standing at the head of the gurney. He turned towards a nurse near him. "Set me up for burr holes."

"Damn it, Shepherd, slow down." Bailey said from where she was sitting, holding Alex's hand in amongst the chaos. "Are you sure he needs burr holes? Can't we just move him up to the OR?"

Derek stepped away from where the nursing staff was setting up for the procedure, towards Bailey. "I know you care about Karev, we all do, but this is the only way he is going to survive long enough to get upstairs, he's already having arrhythmias, if I don't do this he'll crash in the elevator."

Bailey quickly wiped away a tear forming in her eye as she replied. "I know, do it."

Derek moved away to wash his hands and prep for the emergency procedure.

* * *

Less than a minute later Derek was ready to begin. He offered Bailey a reassuring glance before starting. The surgeons were silent as Derek made an incision in Alex's scalp, just behind his right ear, and then started the surgical drill. The sound of the drill going through their friend's skull was almost too much for the team, but they had to continue, Alex's life was on the line.

There was a collective sigh of relief as Derek stopped the drill, and suctioned out the clotted blood, Alex's heart rate began to stabilize, and Derek packed the surgical wound with gauze as he said. "Okay people, let's get him up to surgery. He's not in the clear just yet."

* * *

Dr. Graciella Guzman had been working under Izzie Stevens for just over two years now, although for several months while Izzie had been undergoing treatment she had been reassigned to the trauma service. So when she approached Izzie, who was working at the nurses' station on her charts, Izzie thought nothing of it. "What do you need, Dr Guzman?"

She was panting for the run upstairs in search of Izzie, as she answered. "Dr Bailey needs you in the pit."

"If she needs me, why didn't she just page me?" Izzie asked, not even looking up from her paperwork.

"I don't know, Dr Stevens, they'd just brought in a vic from this pileup on the highway, guy had been trapped for hours, he was a mess. Dr Bailey seemed upset, she yelled at me to come find you."

This got Izzie's attention, it took a lot to get under Bailey's skin. She knew that if Bailey had wanted someone to assist, she would've paged, for her to have sent someone to find her personally… "What's his name?"

"I'm sorry?"

Izzie stood up so that she was standing over her intern, and demanded. "What is the victims' name?!"

Dr Guzman hesitated for a moment, trying to remember the name the paramedics had said. "Um, it was Alexander Karev, I think."

Before the young intern knew what was happening, Izzie had pushed her out of the way and was running towards the stairs.

* * *

Izzie reached the ER just as the surgeons were preparing to move Alex to surgery. She ran into the treatment room, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw her husband lying on the gurney, both his legs in temporary splints, draped with bloodied moist gauze, chest tubes running out of both sides of his chest, a surgical drill not far from his head and a gauze dressing just behind his ear, and finally her gaze fell to his left arm, or what was left of it. Before she could stop herself she cried out in horror.

"Oh god! Alex!"

This got the surgeons attention very quickly, they exchanged a glance between each other before Bailey moved away from the group, towards her former intern. "Izzie…"

"Is he going to live?" Izzie asked, in a state of shock.

Bailey tried to sound comforting as she said. "You know I can't tell you that, Izzie. But we're doing everything we can."

"We've got to move." Owen reminded everyone.

Bailey started to move back towards the gurney, only to have Izzie grab the sleeve of her trauma gown. "Please save him." Izzie said pleadingly before letting go and watching the team rush her husband out of the room towards the OR.

* * *

As Bailey stood over Alex, who lay draped on the operating table, she paused, and moved closer to his head. And she whispered to him. "I have five interns, you make five that I've had on this table, one of you is dead, another has cancer, don't even try to pull anything on me, Karev."

The other surgeons had of course heard her, but said nothing as she sat down on a stool beside the operating table, and took Alex's hand once again, he shouldn't be alone through this. They each then began their part of the massive task of rebuilding Alex's damaged body.

* * *

Izzie didn't know how long she stood there in the treatment room before a nurse came into the room, and gently guided her upstairs to the surgical waiting area, it could have been minutes, or hours, she had no idea. Her thoughts were consumed by the single thought of. _Oh god, please don't let him die._

* * *

It mustn't have been long though, because within minutes of Izzie sitting down in the waiting area, Christina and Meredith came running in.

Meredith was the first to reach Izzie. "Bailey just paged me, she said that Alex was in surgery, what happened? Are you okay?"

"There was an accident, Callie, Owen, Derek, and Bailey are operating. I don't know… It was… Oh god." Izzie said, haunted by the image in her mind of Alex lying there.

"Oh, oh god." Meredith whispered in shock, it had only been a month since George's death, could things get worse? She sat down beside Izzie.

"Oh crap." Cristina muttered, also feeling the shock as she sat down on Izzie's other side.

* * *

It was four hours before Callie emerged from the OR, she was still wearing her theatre gear, as she went over to where Izzie and the others were waiting, she sat down opposite them before telling them. "He's still in surgery, it's going to be a while before we finish, but I just wanted to come let you know how things are going. I've finished my first part of the surgery to stabilize his fractured sternum, and I'm about halfway through placing pins and plates to put his leg fractures back in alignment. Shepherd is doing a craniotomy, Dr Rivett is working on repairing a tear in his heart from the sternal fracture, and Hunt is attempting a replantation on his arm. At the moment Alex is extremely critical, but stable. It will be a while before we know anything definitive, but I wanted to give you an update."

* * *

**TBC...**

**So, how was that?**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! It really encourages me to keep writing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next seven hours were torturous for Izzie, Meredith and Christina, waiting for news, and it wasn't any easier on the surgeons working on Alex, their friend's life was on the line, and it wasn't as easy as just saying that they were going to fix him, it was long, and part of them all knew that he would not just bounce back from this, if he even survived.

When Bailey finally approached the small group, they immediately looked up at her, silently pleading for good news. Bailey stood in front of Izzie as she said. "They're taking Alex to the ICU, he will need more surgery in a few days. His arm has been reattached, so far it looks good, the cardiac injury has been repaired, the leg fractures have been set and put in casts. But the epidural bleed, during the surgery his brain swelled, mannitol is working, but Shepherd wants to leave the skull flap off until the swelling has gone down completely to avoid any further brain damage. You know how it goes, it's a waiting game now."

"I just want to see him." Izzie said softly, pulling herself up onto her feet. "Please just take me to him."

* * *

Bailey silently led her interns upstairs to the ICU, and over to the private room Alex had been placed in, though it wasn't really that private, the wall that faced the nurses' station was made of glass, allowing the nurses a clear view of him at all times.

Meredith and Christina kept a respectful distance, along with Bailey as Izzie made her way to Alex's side.

It was devastating to Izzie to see Alex lying in the hospital bed, unconscious, her medical training told her that it was an induced coma, for the best, but the part of her that loved baking and was thrilled to be married to the love of her life, that part wanted more than anything to see him open his eyes, to hear him speak.

And as for how he was looking, well he looked like he had been hit by a truck, no pun intended. There was a frame lifting the sheets off his legs, to allow the casts on both his legs to dry properly. He was on a ventilator, there were numerous monitors, including one running into his head to monitor the pressure within his skull. The chest drains remained in place, but there was less fluid running through them now, and it was no longer bloody. There was a thick white bandage enveloping his head, protecting the large area of brain that was otherwise unprotected. And finally his left forearm was in a cast, and his upper arm, where the arm had been severed, there was a dressing running around his arm, and there was an external frame holding supporting the recently reconnected limb.

Bailey felt her heart break as she watched Izzie sit down beside her husband's bedside, she was still wearing a bandanna to cover the thin, soft hair that was only just starting to grow back, her recent fight with cancer was still evident, and now she was facing the definite possibility of losing Alex.

Looking over at Alex and Izzie, Bailey had to wonder why it was that people who had no one, people made no real impact, or at least no positive impact on this world walked away without a scratch, while Alex, a talented surgeon who spent his days saving lives, a husband who had recently supported his wife through a battle with cancer, a battle that even now was not over, were left in hospital beds fighting for their lives?

Simple, there was no way to make sense of it, no reason, just tragedy.

* * *

Needless to say Bailey gave her interns the rest of the shift off, and however long after that that they wanted, Meredith and Izzie accepted her offer, but Christina chose instead to get back to work, after giving the ICU nurses instructions to page her 911 if anything changed, the nurses added her name to a considerable list of Seattle Grace staff who had already made the same request.

* * *

As Izzie and Meredith were maintaining their vigil at Alex's side, the other surgeons were trying to distract themselves with work. Derek offered for Christina to assist him on a surgery, at Meredith's request that he keep an eye on her friend, whom she knew was trying to handle the situation in the only way she knew, distancing herself and keeping busy. Callie and Bailey busied themselves in the clinic, they were too shaken by the accident, and knew that they shouldn't be operating on anyone. And everyone else who knew Alex immersed themselves in a variation of these acts.

* * *

Late the following evening Izzie still hadn't gone further away from Alex than to the bathrooms, at least Meredith had been home once to change and have a rest, and everyone was getting worried about her, eventually just shy of three am, Bailey approached Izzie, who despite the early hour was wide awake, just watching Alex, holding his hand. Kindly, but firmly, Miranda said. "Go home, Izzie. Sleep, take a shower, eat a decent meal."

"I can't-" Izzie began. She didn't want to leave, what if something happened while she was gone?

"I will sit with Alex until you get back, and I will call you if there is any reason to, so get out of here, Stevens, I don't want to see you back here until at least eight am."

After working under Bailey for six years, Izzie knew better than to question her, and she also knew that Bailey would keep her promise and watch over Alex until she returned, and so she left the ICU and Alex for the first time in nearly two days. She was only away three hours.

* * *

Three days later, and Alex was still in the induced coma, but there was now an end in sight, the previous night Derek had taken Alex back into surgery, and replaced the bone flap. Now they were just waiting for Alex to be weaned off the sedatives, and then to wake up.

It was a very nervous time for everyone. What if Alex was to wake up and he couldn't remember them, or he couldn't speak, or move? What if he woke up and was different, damaged?

* * *

Two days later, and Alex had been fully weaned off the sedatives, and it was a matter of time before he would wake up, if he was going to wake up. And knowing that, Izzie, Meredith, Bailey, and even Christina had settled into the ICU room's uncomfortable chairs, ready to wait out the time until they saw their friend and mentee open his eyes, and they would know if he was okay.

* * *

It was late into that night, Izzie was the only one still awake in the room, and even she was resting her head on a pillow she'd put on the edge of Alex's bed. She was startled when the hand that her head had been resting near, moved up to her head, touching her bandanna softly.

She sat upright suddenly, and looked at Alex, his eyes were wide, and she could see him struggling against the intrusion of the breathing tube down his throat. Standing up so that Alex could see her easily, Izzie took Alex's right hand, and gently said. "It's okay, Alex. You were in an accident, you're in the ICU. Do you want me to extubate you?"

Alex nodded weakly, even that was tiring.

Izzie offered Alex a comforting smile as she quickly checked his vitals, and set up to remove the breathing tube. When she was ready, she told him. "Okay, Alex, just take a deep breath in and on my count of three, blow out." She firmly wrapped her fingers around the tube before counting. "Okay, one, two, three, blow out." She pulled the tube out swiftly, and moved the supplies aside as she moved to help Alex, who was coughing, and trying to sit up.

Izzie adjusted the bed, raising the back so that he was semi upright, before gently leaning him forward and rubbing his back as he coughed.

At some point during all this, the other people in the room woke up, and when Alex finally stopped coughing, Meredith was waiting there with a glass of ice chips. "Here, Alex. This'll help."

Alex let Meredith put the glass to his mouth, and let several pieces of ice slide in. Izzie helped him lie back down against the backrest, and they waited patiently for him to finish the ice, they knew he would have questions, if he was able to ask them.

* * *

**TBC...**

**So, how was that?**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! It really encourages me to keep writing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The relief amongst the group was palpable, when a minute later Alex asked. "How long 'til I'm getting out of here? It feels like I got hit by a truck."

They couldn't help but laugh slightly at his all too accurate description. Bailey moved closer as she told him. "You've had us worried, Karev. Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember leaving the house this morning… what happened?"

Bailey sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before telling him. "From what we've gathered, seven days ago you were driving to work, there was a car broken down on the highway, the truck in front of you hit it and jackknifed, you ran into the side of the truck. Damn it, Karev, when you came in here you were as close to dying as I've seen people."

"Seven days? A week?" Alex questioned, he couldn't believe he'd lost so much time.

Bailey nodded as she told him. "You've been in an induced coma."

"How bad is it?" Alex could tell, even through the copious volumes of pain killers being pumped into his body that he was hurt, badly.

Bailey thought briefly about lying, but there wasn't much point, he would eventually realize the extent of his injuries. "Sternal fracture, bilateral open leg fractures, left radius and ulna fractures, cardiac tear, epidural bleed… near amputation of left arm. You're lucky to be alive."

"Where's Iz?"

"I'm right here." Izzie said, moving closer, into Alex's line of sight, she put her hand to his cheek, and stroked it in a comforting way. "I'm here. How're you doing?"

"Everything hurts."

Izzie looked up at Bailey, and asked. "More morphine?"

"No, his respiratory functions already lower than I'd like, any more morphine in his system and he'll be back on the vent." Bailey replied, she wanted Alex to be comfortable, but there wasn't much she could do on this occasion.

Izzie had known that that would be the answer, but she had needed to ask. "Sorry." She said genuinely to Alex. "Is there anything I can do?"

Alex was exhausted, his whole body was throbbing, and his mind was somewhat clouded by the morphine. "Just stay." He whispered in reply as he drifted to sleep.

Izzie sat down carefully on the other side of the bed, being careful of his injured arm, and she gently took his hand in hers, focusing on his skin of his fingers than the cast that encircled most of his hand and forearm.

"I've got to go, I've got a surgery. Is there anything I can get either of you?" Bailey asked as she stood up to leave.

Izzie just shook her head, and then Meredith replied. "I think we're okay. We'll page you if anything changes."

One that note, Bailey left, and not long after she had walked through the door, Meredith commented. "It's a good sign, Iz. That he's been awake and alert."

Izzie knew this was true, but she wasn't ready to get optimistic yet. They would have a long road ahead of them. "There could still be problems, and what about his arm? If it doesn't heal perfectly he won't be able to operate again. That'd kill him, this shouldn't be all we have, but it is and when it doesn't look like you'll get it back, it is the worst feeling, I know."

To that statement there was no response.

* * *

The positive that was Alex waking up was soon forgotten when the next morning, Alex woke up to discover that he couldn't feel or move anything below his waist. Izzie had gone home to rest, and Meredith had left to check on a patient she was concerned about. He went through what he could of a neurovascular check, no response.

Alex tried not to panic as he worked through it, but as he realized that he had no feeling or control over his lower body it became harder and harder. When one of the ICU nurses, Amy came into his room, it was all he could do not to scream out for help, but instead of that, in a tone that somewhat resembled calm, he asked her. "I can't feel my legs, I have complete sensory loss below my waist. Can you page Dr Shepherd?"

Amy's pretty face contorted into an 'oh my god' type of expression. She said nothing before rushing out of the room, assumingly to page Derek.

* * *

Within minutes Derek came into the room at a brisk stride, with Bailey following closely behind. Derek moved straight to the end of Alex's bed, and pulled the blankets off his casted legs, up to his waist, glancing apologetically at Alex as he exposed him completely.

Bailey stood at Alex's head, talking him through Derek's complete neurovascular exam.

* * *

And just minutes later it was over, Derek was hastily preparing Alex's bed and the equipment that surrounded it for transport, as he told Alex. "You've definitely got a spinal injury that we initially didn't appreciate, but there are signs that it is incomplete. We're taking you for an MRI, and we'll go from there. But whatever we're going to do, you know we need to work quickly."

* * *

They had rushed Alex into the scanner, and it had revealed what they were dealing with. "There." Derek pointed out a point on the MRI image. "Fracture of the L3 vertebrae, bone fragment impinging on the cord, a lot of swelling in the cord. We've got to get in there and get that piece out or he's never going to walk again."

Bailey did not say anything as she rushed into the scanner room, and quickly pulled Alex out of the scanner.

"What is it?" Alex asked her, sensing her urgency.

"L3 fracture, Shepherd is booking an OR." Bailey said matter of factly as she worked.

Alex was instantly terrified, a part of him knew that this was a possibility, but hearing that, he knew the prognosis, chances were that he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and Alex was lying on an operating table again, he was still awake, but in almost every other way he was prepped. He was lying on his back, but as soon as he was intubated they would roll him over for the operation.

Bailey was sitting on a stool beside Alex, she was scrubbed in for the surgery, but she had wanted to speak with Alex before he was sedated.

"Not much longer, Alex. How're you doing?"

"Been better." Alex said with a dry laugh.

"You know this is what we have to do for you to have any chance of getting back to work, and I have put too much effort into training you to have you forced out of it now. This is just a bump in the road, and when you get back here, you won't even think about this."

"I know this has to be done, I say no then I have no chance of recovering fully, I say yes and I have a slight chance of regaining some function."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! It really encourages me to keep writing.**

**Sorry for the delay!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

When Izzie returned to the hospital several hours later, and she found Alex's room empty, she went straight into panic mode, something was wrong, she just knew it.

Having seen Izzie go past the nurses' station Amy, the nurse who had found Alex in distress earlier, quickly went over to Izzie, and got her attention. "Dr Stevens?"

Izzie turned on her heels to face Amy. "Where's Alex?!" She questioned the young nurse abruptly.

Then, in a tone of voice that was supposed to be comforting, but really only added to Izzie's concern, Amy said. "Dr Stevens, I'm so sorry to tell you this, but he has been taken back into surgery. Dr Shepherd found a spinal cord injury, he took Alex straight into surgery."

"Is he alright?" Izzie said, trying to regain her composure.

Amy placed a steadying hand on Izzie's arm, as she noticed the doctor sway. "Last I heard he was stable, but they are concerned that he may be paralyzed from the waist down."

* * *

Alex made it through the surgery with flying colours, it was then a waiting game, it wasn't until three days later that the swelling in his spinal cord had gone down.

In those three days he had spent nearly every waking minute trying desperately to move his legs, even just a toe, something to tell him that there was hope, and when finally after three nerve wracking days …success. His right big toe twitched.

Izzie was sitting beside him on his bed, watching his face contort with effort, silently praying for a miracle, praying that Alex would walk again, that he would get back to his former self, when suddenly his expression switched from despair, to surprise, to joy. "Alex?"

"It moved. Iz, I moved my toe." Alex said, somewhat shocked.

Wordlessly, Izzie wrapped her arms around Alex as best she could, and hugged him, kissing him passionately, overjoyed. As she pulled away, she warmly said. "I knew you would."

* * *

But his recovery was still far from over, just minutes later their private celebration was interrupted by Callie, she was carrying several large white envelopes. "Oh, sorry guys." She apologized before asking. "How're you doing, Alex?"

He was really getting sick of that question, for the past few days he had answered the same, a simple 'okay', but this time Izzie answered for him. Excitedly she told their friend. "He moved his toe!"

To anyone outside of the situation it would have seemed a strange thing to be so excited over, but Callie knew what this meant, there was a chance for recovery. "That's great news." She enthused.

"It is, isn't it." Izzie replied, matching Callie's tone. "Did you just come to visit?"

Callie looked over at Alex, and she told him. "I have wanted to come see you, but I do need to go over the x-rays we did yesterday." She moved closer to Alex's bedside, and pulled out the first film. "All the leg films showed good alignment, as did the forearm fracture and the prosthetic humerus bone is holding well, but as you see here" She pointed out a spot on the chest x-ray "the sternal bone is not aligned well enough, it could cause problems down the track. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I need to take you back into surgery to realign the bone. I've booked an OR for tomorrow morning."

* * *

The next morning, after Alex had been taken back into surgery, Izzie was sitting in his room, waiting for him to be brought back, when Meredith came in. "Hey Iz, any word on Alex yet?"

"Not yet."

"How're you doing?" Meredith asked as she sat down on Alex's unoccupied bed.

"I just want all this to be over and for things to go back to normal." Izzie said softly, looking down at her wedding ring. It was only a month ago that they had thought that she wouldn't survive, that she would never come back to work, and now it was happening all over again to Alex.

They sat in silence for some time before Izzie asked her friend. "Why did it take four days for us to notice the cord injury? How did we not see the signs earlier?"

Meredith sighed softly. She too had been thinking about this. "I don't know, all I can think of is that up until the night before he had been heavily sedated, only awake for brief periods. It was really the swelling that caused the paralysis, so I guess that it might have taken several days for the swelling to get to that point, and it's entirely possible that Alex wasn't lucid enough to realize the problem. And we weren't looking."

* * *

The latest surgery went without a hitch, and by the next afternoon Alex was being moved out of the ICU as he was now finally considered stable, as the gurney was being rolled down the hallways with Alex sitting semi upright on it, when Derek approached him.

"Hey Karev, good to see you getting out of the ICU." Derek said as he kept pace with the gurney. "I was just coming to see you. We've got your latest MRI scans, the last of the swelling in your brain and spinal cord has gone down, so I've arranged for someone from physio to some talk to you. And once they've got you in your new room, I'll take the bulky dressing off your head, work on making you feel a bit more human."

"Okay. Any word on when the cardio-thoratic guy will come clear me, and give the order to take the tubes out?"

"Victoria Rivett did your surgery, I thought she would've been around to see you, I can give her a page. The sooner the chest tubes come out the sooner we can work on getting you out of bed."

* * *

They reached the room in the high dependency ward soon after, and while Alex was being settled into the bed, Meredith and Izzie came by, Meredith had gone back to work that day, and Izzie had left Alex to go have something to eat in the cafeteria.

Izzie moved to Alex's side and greeted him, while Meredith moved over to where Derek was standing in the corner of the room. "Hey. How's it going?"

Derek kissed Meredith lightly on the lips before going on to tell her. "Very well, Alex is doing well. How's your first day back? Been busy?"

"Not too bad so far, but I'm on trauma call, and I've got back to back surgeries this afternoon, the three-thirty one got cancelled, that's why I'm here, it's the only chance I'm going to get to see Alex today."

Before Derek could say anything further, one of the orderlies who had been moving Alex came over to the couple. "We're done now, Dr Shepherd."

"Thank you." Derek replied, and once the orderlies were on their way out, he moved along with Meredith over to Alex's bedside. "Okay, Alex, let's get this done, then I'll leave you guys to visit."

"What's going on?" Izzie asked.

Derek took a pair of medical shears out of his lab coat as he explained. "The skull flap should be stable enough now for the dressing to come off."

"That's great." Izzie said happily, gently squeezing Alex's hand in comfort as she and Meredith watched Derek cut through the layers of gauze, and eventually pull away the bandage. It was a shock to see Alex with the bandage gone, his head had been completely shaved for the surgeries, and there was a long curved incision on the right side of his head, covered by a clear plastic dressing, along with a smaller incision just behind Alex's right ear, which they knew came from the emergency burr hole procedure.

It only reinforced the severity of the situation, serving as a further reminder of how close their friend came to death.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! It really encourages me to keep writing. So please give me some feedback on this chapter!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The physiotherapist came and went the following morning, giving Alex a long list of exercises to work through with someone for each of his various physical impairments. As did Dr Rivett, who pulled out the chest drains, and agreed that he was healing well, the cardiac injury didn't seem to have any long lasting effects. Mark had been called in to assist with the injury to Alex's arm, doing more advanced checks on the slow, tedious recovery of function.

It would have been easy for Alex to have become disheartened, the constant stream of medical professionals he had once been among coming in and out of his room, each one reminding him of what he may never regain, but Izzie, Meredith, Bailey, and even Christina were careful to pick up on what was going on and talk him out of it as best they could.

They just had to keep reminding him of his victories.

While having areas of compromised sensation on his arm, he could feel and move his hand well.

He was getting stronger, he could now stay awake most of the day without needing to rest.

He had gotten feeling back in his lower body, though he still couldn't do more than wriggle his toes and flex his ankle.

Despite a severe brain injury he hadn't suffered any after effects.

And he had been cleared by each of the attendings to leave.

Twenty-nine days after the accident, after four trips to the OR, and countless hours of anxious waits for his friends, he was leaving the hospital.

But in fact he wasn't going home, there was a rehabilitation centre twenty minutes drive from their house, Brookfield Centre. It was a large facility that primarily serviced the tri-state area, and was generally considered the best available. Derek had already spoken with the head of the hospital, Dr Stan Gordon, a friend of his, who under the circumstances had agreed to personally oversee Alex's care.

There was an ambulance waiting downstairs to transfer Alex. Izzie and Meredith were helping him get ready to go, packing his bags, helping him dressed, and moving him into the hospital issue wheelchair that he hated with an absolute passion, but at the same time was dependant on.

* * *

They were almost out the door, when Bailey came by. "Big day." She commented as she sat down on Alex's vacant bed, facing Alex.

"Yeah, big day. It'd be better if I was going home though." Alex confessed, all he wanted was to sleep in his own bed, to be independent again.

Sensing Alex's despair and frustration, and knowing that it had to be stopped in its tracks, Bailey firmly told him. "Now you just listen here, it is a miracle of modern medicine that you're alive. And even if it takes a year you will get back here, but you know as well as I do that rehab doesn't work if you don't put in the work. So damn well snap out of this attitude, and work your butt off to get better, everyone here has worked too hard to train you, and now to save your life for you to give up."

* * *

The ride to the rehab centre felt as though it took hours to Alex, Izzie and Meredith were following in Meredith's car, and he was left alone in his wheelchair in the back of the ambulance, listening to the dull chatter between the paramedics.

* * *

And upon arrival it didn't improve much, the paramedics took him as far as the main desk, where Izzie filled out eight pages of paperwork for his admission.

Alex sat there beside Izzie in his wheelchair, playing along with her attempts to make him laugh with the mundane nature of the questions.

He knew that he was getting the occasional glance from the steady stream of people coming through the reception area, either on their way to an appointment or to visit someone. And Alex knew why they were looking, he wished that he looked like the confident, young surgeon he had been, not the severely injured, wheelchair bound man he now was. Apart from the obvious, the wheelchair, there was also the fact that there was a long raised, red scar running along the side of his head, casts on both his legs, though they were for the most part hidden by a pair of grey trackpants, and another cast on his arm, it was a new cast, this one had replaced the external frame and forearm cast, it ran from his fingers to his armpit. Yes, it was clear to Alex, what they were staring at, but that didn't mean that he didn't wish they would all stop it.

But instead of getting into a fight with any of the people, of which he would have lost, Alex tried to distract himself by looking around the front entrance that he was currently sitting in. It was tastefully decorated, it looked more like an office than the entrance to a hospital, there was no sign of any patients, to the left of the desk there was a set of double doors, and to the right there was another set of doors, though it wasn't clear what was behind either set.

When Izzie finally finished the paperwork, she handed them back to the receptionist, and an orderly came through the right set of doors. The orderly, Travis came over to Alex, and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Travis, you must be Alex Karev. I'll take you around to the unit you will be staying on."

"Thanks, I guess." Alex replied as Travis took hold of the handles on the back of the wheelchair, and started pushing him towards the doors, with Izzie close behind, and Meredith trailing behind wheeling a suitcase that Izzie had packed for Alex.

* * *

As they passed through the doors, the scenery changed quickly, there was a long hallway, with full length windows on both sides allowing them to see out to the gardens, off the hallway there were other hallways that led to the various units. First they passed one that according to the sign was the "Canary" Unit, but Travis informed them that it was the long-term unit, designated for people with no chance of a meaningful recovery, people in comas and such. They then passed the "Bluebird" Unit, a general unit apparently, followed by the "Rainbow" Unit, aka pediatrics, and another three more before they reached the end of the hallway, "Waratah" Unit, the unit designated for private patients, the rooms were more like motel suites than hospital rooms, every room had a double bed, which was adjustable, a small lounge suite complete with LCD TV, an ensuite and a private patio, all wheelchair accessible.

Alex's first thought when he was wheeled into the unit was that there had been a mistake, the place was decorated like a high end hotel, he could practically see the patients and their visitors driving their Mercedes and BMWs, living in their palatial homes. The nurses' station was set in an area of the wall that had been purpose built so that the desk did not impinge on the hallway, it looked like a reception desk, the main office area was behind the desk, sealed off by a door, and there was a large fresh flower arrangement on the desk, along with matching smaller arrangements on shelves inset into the walls. But it was sparsely furnished, and what furniture they had was well out of the way, ensuring easy access.

An attractive twenty something year old nurse with dark blonde hair, Hailey Chapman came out from behind the nurses' desk to meet Alex. She had a chart in her hands as she approached the group. "Dr Karev?"

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! **

**Happy New Year, and Enjoy!**

* * *

Alex nodded. "Yeah. And it's Alex."

"Hi, Alex. I'm Hailey, and I'll be your primary nurse while you're here at Brookfield." She looked towards Izzie and Meredith. "And you two are?"

"Izzie, I'm Alex's wife. And this is our friend, Meredith."

"Nice to meet you both. How was the drive over?"

"Nothing special." Alex replied as they made their way down a hallway. "Look, are you sure this is where I'm meant to be, no offence, but it seems a bit out of my price range."

Hailey had been approached by Dr Gordon earlier, and he had filled her in on some things. "Your physician at Seattle Grace, Dr Shepherd, from what I understand he knows our chief of staff, Dr Gordon; I don't know the details, but he has arranged for you to receive the highest standard of care that we offer. Dr Gordon will be treating you personally, when he meets with you this evening he will most likely be able to tell you more."

"Oh, okay." Alex mumbled, it didn't really make sense to him, but he was too worn out from the trip to really care.

* * *

They turned another corner, and came to a room, Hailey took a small set of keys from her pocket and unlocked the door, she held the door open for Travis to wheel Alex in and for Izzie and Meredith to follow them in.

Alex's first impression of the room, well he was in shock, it was massive, logic told him that it was to make it easier to get around, but still.

"Okay, Alex, this will be your room throughout your stay here." Hailey announced as she took hold of the wheelchair handles.

Travis slipped out of the room, no longer needed, while Hailey wheeled Alex over to the bed, and she picked up one of the remotes, this one was attached to the bed. Over the bed there was an automated hoist, it also ran into the bathroom.

She held it for Alex to see. "First off, this remote operates the hoist system, I know it may feel frustrating to need to use it to move around, but with a bit of practice it will allow you to move in and out of your wheelchair, to the bathroom, without needing help. A physiotherapist will be by later to explain it properly."

Next one. "It's pretty easy to work everything really, this remote allows you to raise and lower the bed, adjust the backrest and legrest." She put that one down and picked up another, this was connected to the wall. "This one is for the nurse call, over bed TV controls, and in room climate controls. Now, I just need to ask you a few questions and check your vitals, and then I'll leave you to unpack."

"Okay." Alex agreed as Hailey sat down on the arm of one of the lounge chairs, while Izzie and Meredith sat on the bed.

Hailey flicked the first few pages of the chart over, before pulling out her pen, and starting to work through a checklist. "Okay, Alex. Any allergies?"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and Alex had answered the series of questions that Hailey asked, sometimes he had to defer to Izzie if he didn't know something for whatever reason.

And up until this point all the questions had been very straightforward.

"And can you just describe the accident for our records?"

"I don't remember it, the last thing I remember was leaving the house that morning. I've been told that I was driving to work, a truck in front of me hit a broken down car and jackknifed, my car hit the truck."

"Okay, and can you tell me what you want to achieve while you're here? We will go into it further later, but just so we can get an idea."

"I want…" Alex began, only to pause. He glanced up at Izzie and Meredith sadly before he told Hailey. "I want my life back. I want to finish my residency, I want to…" he looked pointedly at Izzie as he said "I want to have a family. I don't want to be the guy who screwed up and spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair with everyone feeling sorry for him."

"That's why you're here, Alex." Meredith reminded her friend. "You're gonna be fine. Seriously."

"Your friend is right. If you commit to working with the team here, it is the best chance you have of recovering." Hailey told Alex seriously, before she said. "I'll give you some time to settle in now, Alex. Just press the call button if you need anything."

* * *

The group of residents then watched as the young nurse walked out of the room, leaving them alone. Once Hailey was gone, Izzie commented, "It's a nice place."

"Yeah, guess so," Alex replied as he too surveyed the room.

An awkward silence filled the air, no one was sure of how to proceed, eventually to break to silence, Izzie said, "All your stuff needs to be put away, I'll just get started on that" She grabbed Meredith's arm, and pulled her over towards the wardrobe with a smile, "Mere, you don't mind helping do you?"

Meredith removed Izzie's hand from her arm, as she lightly replied, "No problem."

As Alex sat by the bed, Meredith and Izzie worked together on the unpacking.

"I hate this," Meredith commented in a hushed voice, "We should've taken Alex home, we could've managed. He shouldn't be here, we're doctors, we could handle this."

"I know, Mere, but this place is the best. Alex nearly, he nearly died, if we want him back, how he was before this, he has to do this," Izzie replied in a matching barely audible tone.

But as much as Alex, Izzie, and everyone else around them wished that things were different, they weren't, and they just had to get on with things as best they could.

* * *

Alex had his first session with his physiotherapist, Ben Marcs, a thirty something former track and field star from Texas, ten years ago a knee injury ruined his career, but led him towards his new one.

An orderly took Alex through the hallways of the unit to the physical therapy room, where Alex was met by Ben, "Hey Alex, how're you doin' this mornin'?"

They quickly got to work at one of the tables that allowed focus to be on arms and hands. Due to the relative immobility caused by the leg casts, the range of exercises Ben could work through with Alex was limited, mostly they focused on regaining motion in Alex's left arm.

It wasn't easy, each and every attempt had Alex panting exhaustedly, on the verge of breaking down.

Ben did everything he could to help Alex work through it. "That's good, Alex. Have another go, try to grip the stress ball, I know it's hard, but this is the only way you're gonna get your arm back."

It was true, as painful as the exercises were, it was Alex's only chance to regain use of his arm. Squeezing stress balls, resisting Ben's attempt to push his arm up, down and every other way, focusing on moving finger by finger, or more correctly attempting to move his fingers. It felt like hell, but Alex had no choice but to push himself through it.

* * *

When Alex's session was over and he was taken back to his room, upon being left alone, Alex was too tired to so much as lift himself into bed; instead he fell asleep sitting in his wheelchair. Tears of frustration and effort were still staining his face.

**

* * *

**

TBC...

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Meanwhile, Izzie was assisting Derek on surgery on a kid who'd fallen off his bike and gotten hit by a car, severe brain injury.

Derek was trying to salvage what he could of the poor kid's brain, when he commented, "Even if this kid does pull through, he's going to need to relearn everything, probably be in rehab for months, at least." He paused before asking Izzie, "Speaking of, how's Dr Karev doing? He was moved to Brookfield yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, he's doing alright. Thanks again for getting Dr Gordon to take his case, everyone I've spoke to says that he's the best."

"No problem, Dr Stevens. I just want to see Alex back here where he belongs."

"You and me both."

* * *

Alex stayed in his room, in his wheelchair, no longer crying, but still too exhausted to move, until one of the ward nurses came in to the room. "Alex, it's time for dinner, do you want to come down to the dining room?"

He didn't want to, but the therapy had taken it out of him, and he knew that he had to eat. "…Sure."

"Okay," the nurse said as she moved to the back of the wheelchair, and began to push it out of the room. "Ben said you had a pretty hard time with therapy. I know you're probably already sick of hearing this, but it does get easier."

* * *

The dining room was much the same as the hallways and rooms, a large airy space, there were tables lined up, six places at each table, each had some seats and some spaces to accommodate wheelchairs, and there was a lot of space between each table, allowing for easy access.

The nurse took Alex to get a meal tray from the server before taking him over to one of the nearby tables, there were already three people at the table, an older lady and man, and a young looking guy in a wheelchair.

"Thanks," Alex said to the nurse, as she put his tray down in front of him, before leaving. As the nurse walked away, Alex extended his working arm to the young guy, and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Alex."

"Todd," The guy offered, shaking Alex's hand, he then pointed the older man and woman, "And this is Louise and Samuel. How'd you end up here?"

"Car crash. You?"

"Same, been here seven weeks, still paralyzed."

"Sorry man."

"You weren't driving the car," Todd replied with a shrug, he quickly shifted the conversation, "What do you think of the place? It's not the Hilton, but I reckon it is okay."

"Yeah, it's pretty flash though, doesn't feel like I fit."

"Does seem a bit over the top in here, but when you've been here awhile, you appreciate the creature comforts." Todd then asked, "What did you do before the crash?"

Alex paused, he hadn't thought about it like that before, what had he done before the accident, not what does he do. Alex gritted his teeth as he said, "I'm a surgical resident over at Seattle Grace."

Todd raised his eyebrows in surprise, "A doctor, impressive. And ever an optimist, that'll help here."

"What do you mean?"

"What damage did you get? Paraplegia? Brain injury? Just fractures?"

Alex was surprised by his forwardness, but answered anyway, "Incomplete spinal injury, head and chest injuries, near amputation of my left arm, busted up both legs. They reckon that I should get back most functions, just will take a hell of a long time."

"I used to think that too. It doesn't work out like that."

A heavy silence grew over the table, it was a fact of life in the centre that the staff would do anything to keep you positive, even if you had no hope of recovering.

* * *

That night Izzie, Meredith, Christina, and even Bailey stopped by to check on him, it was nice to get a chance to hear what was happening at the hospital, hear about the surgeries they'd been on that day. Even if it hurt to know what he was missing out on, at least he could keep up to date about procedures and techniques.

It became a nightly, or sometimes second nightly routine, someone would come in to see Alex, bring charts, films, whatever else they could, and as well as catching up, they'd discuss the case, the surgery, outcomes. It made being stuck in the centre easier to know that while the rest of the world was still going, he was still keeping up with it.

* * *

Therapy was much the same for the next month, but then, once his legs were adequately healed to have the casts removed, Ben immediately intensified Alex's physical therapy regimen.

They still did exercises to help Alex regain strength in his injured arm, but they added in range of motion exercises for his legs, and eight days after Alex had had the casts removed, Ben met Alex in the physical therapy room, at least now Alex was able to get himself around the centre easily in a wheelchair.

Ben had set up everything at their usual space, but in addition there was an odd contraption, which Alex didn't recognize.

As he pulled up in front of his physical therapist, Alex suspiciously asked, "What's that and what have you got planned?"

"Nice to see ya' too, Alex," Ben joked, before he more seriously told Alex, "It's how we're gonna to get you back on ya' feet. It's called a reciprocating gait orthosis, long and complicated name, we usually just say RGO, but it works well for some people." Ben went and retrieved the device, and once he returned he explained, "This is a trainer, if you can manage it, then we'll fit you for a custom version."

"Okay," Alex said, "So what do we do now?"

"We give it a go if you'd like."

The prospect of finally being back on his feet after two months was awesome, and so Alex quickly replied, "Sure, let's do this."

It was the most eager Ben had seen Alex in physical therapy in weeks.

* * *

**TBC....**

**Thanks for reading, please take a moment to drop me a review!**

**And as always, suggestions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, feel free to put them in a review or PM.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and chances are that I never will.**

**A huge thank you everyone who have reviewed and read this fic so far! **

**Enjoy the final chapter!**

* * *

But it wasn't as easy as Alex may have hoped, it wasn't as simple as just putting the device on and walking. Ben showed Alex over to an exam table.

"Okay Alex, let's get you up onto the table, do you want any help?"

"I'm good," Alex replied as he went to the end of the table, against the wall, and used the controls to lower the table, before positioning his wheelchair alongside the table, and put on the handbrake. He then grasped one hand on the side of his wheelchair and the other on the edge of the table, and with great effort he lifted himself over onto the table.

He was getting used to having to use assistive devices and different methods to get around, part of him had now resigned itself to the fact that things would never get back to how they were.

Ben only helped Alex shift his legs into line, the dead weight was much harder to move, especially given that Alex still had some weakness in his arm, his fine motor skills were fine, but lifting, stretching, those sorts of things were hard, it made transfers difficult, but Alex was learning to adapt the action to suit his abilities.

They moved on as soon as Alex was in place, there was a lot to cover. "Now, Alex what we're gonna do is put your body in this piece, strap you in, then we'll put both of your legs into these pieces, they'll hold your legs steady, while you use your torso to swing your legs up and forward one at a time. You up for that?"

Alex was certain that he was, "For sure."

Ben adeptly fastened the RGO to Alex's body, explaining what he was doing as he went.

* * *

Once the device was on, no sooner than Ben had stood up and moved to the side, preparing to help Alex stand, when Alex used his arms to push himself up off the table.

Alex started to fall, his legs couldn't hold him, luckily Ben managed to catch him before he hit the floor.  
"Easy Alex, easy," Ben urged as he helped Alex ease back onto the table, he then motioned to another physical therapist, Trey, and called out to him, "Trey, you give me a hand over here?"

"I thought…" Alex began, he had thought that he'd just be able to stand, when he stumbled, to was so scary, so unexpected.

"I should have warned you that it takes some practice."

Feeling stupid, Alex just nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

Once Trey came over, Ben and he stood at either side of Alex. Ben then explained to Alex, "Now, what we're going to do is, me and Trey here, we're going to hold onto your arms, you just put all your weight onto us as you stand up, if you feel okay with that then we can have a go with a few steps."

It was shaky and awkward, but Alex managed to take five small, shuffling steps.

A major victory for Alex.

* * *

When Izzie, Meredith and Christina came to visit that evening, Alex was still beaming, standing on his own two feet, even though he had been dependent on the RGO and two physiotherapists, knowing that he was finally on his way to getting his life back was the best feeling.

"Geez, Karev. What's up with you? There a leaking nitrous tank around here?" Christina asked jokingly, as Izzie and Meredith more gently greeted Alex.

It wasn't until his friends, his family had sat down that he told them, "I walked today." It was all he could do to make it sound casual, no big deal.

Their eyes bulged out of their heads. "You what?" Izzie asked disbelievingly.

"I walked."

"How?" Christina asked, she was curious, what had the therapist done to get her colleague, who was paralyzed, to walk.

"An RGO, reciprocating gait orthosis. Ben wanted me to try it, you strap it on to your torso, then your legs, stand up, and then you use your stomach muscles to lift and swing one leg after the other. It's slow as, but it beats being in a wheelchair."

* * *

After finally seeing that he could get back to somewhere close to how he'd been before the accident, Alex began to really push himself in physical therapy, and just six weeks later, Dr Gordon, Alex's attending physician summoned Alex to his consulting room.

There he suggested something that was both exciting and terrifying to Alex.

"We think that it would be good for you to have a trial day out of the centre. Whether it is just for you to go home, and spend some time there with your wife, or you could go out, have a picnic, go to the shops, whatever you'd like."

"I… I don't know…" Alex said, the idea of leaving the centre, a place where no one looked at you if you were in a wheelchair, or had a scar running around your upper arm, it terrified him, he knew he looked different, all the work he'd done, it still hadn't gotten him back to what he was before the accident. Even with the RGO, it was still obvious that he was now disabled.

The doctor smiled understandingly, "I know it's daunting, going back into the real world, almost all of our patients feel that way. It's easy in here, no one judges you, it's supportive, out there, honestly it isn't. But if we take time to plan it, talk to Izzie, it's more likely that we can set up your outing so that it can be a success," He paused, "If you manage alright, we'll start doing home modifications, and such, and see if we can get you home."

* * *

The next weekend, Izzie and Meredith picked Alex up from the centre in Meredith's car. The first difficulty they encountered was getting Alex into the higher vehicle, but Alex had worked on this with the occupation therapist, and after a couple of tries he succeeded, without Izzie or Meredith's help, as much as they had wanted to help, Alex had been insistent that he could do it.

They just went home, spent the morning there, and that felt fine, not far from normal. But after lunch, Izzie wanted to go out, and Alex agreed, just the two of them.

* * *

Throughout their outing, all Alex cared about was making sure that no one was staring at him, but no matter what he tried, short of getting back in the car and going home, people stared. He was walking with the RGO, but having a large series of metal and plastic strapped to his legs, and that drew attention, at least a long sleeved top hide the scars on his arm.

* * *

By the time Alex returned to the centre, though he had kept up a tough façade, he was wrecked, he had no idea how he was going to manage this everyday when he was released.

Of course the councilors and therapists talked to Alex about the experience, but he hadn't told them just how much it had bothered him. He could handle it on his own.

* * *

Alex was released from the centre two months later, and officially finished four months after that, he still hadn't returned to work, and he wasn't going to. His injuries prevented him from returning to the surgical program, and he wasn't going to settle for general practice or dermatology.

Things were tough, but Alex and Izzie were figuring it out. They would get their lives back, albeit very different lives.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
